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On  the  Gunsmoke  Set/continued   spots  inside  the  cavernous  studio.
                                        Arness sprawled  out awkwardly  on
      at  a  table  .in  Kitty's  Long  Branch_  a  cot  in  the  small  portable  dressing
      saloon,  scripts  in  front  of  them.   room on the  set,  his  knees pulled up,
        Because  they  are  so  familiar  with   his big hat resting on his chest.
      the  characters  they  play,  the  show's   "I've  got  a  good  deal,"  he  said.  "I
      four  regulars  don't  bother  to  learn   had a five-year contract with CBS but
      their  lines  as  written.  They  read  a   we  broke  it  off  at  four  and  wrote  a
      script  to  get  the  feel  of  it,  then  read   new  one.  Now  I  own a  chunk  of  the
      it through  again at a  weekly Monday   show and I'm setting up my own pro-
      conference, with the director and pro-  duction company  We'll continue with
      ducer sitting in. The actors change the   Gunsmoke,  maybe  even  to  a  seventh
      lines-a  word  here,  a  phrase  there-  season.  We'll  also  create  and  develop
      to  be  more  "comfortable."  When  the   a  couple of series."
      4irector calls for  the first  "take," they
      have  the  dialog  down  pat.   Arness  had  recently  made  the  jump
        The  early-morning  run-throughs,   from  actor  to  company president, and
      when  everybody  is  fresh,  are  occa-  the  effects  were  showing.  The  Gun-
      sionally enlivened by quiet horseplay   smoke cast and crew were giving him
      In  the  initial  scene  this  particular   the  needle,  addressing  him  as  "Mr.
      morning, a  "Big Daddy"  sort of char-  President"  and  asking  permission  to
      acter  has  caught  his errant son  swil-  speak. Later in the day, when he stood
      ling whisky in  the  saloon  and is run-  alone in the middle of the long indoor
      ning  him  out of  the  place,  intent  on   Western  street  reading  a  line,  the
      lambasting  him  out  on  the  street.   crew broke into  a  calculated storm of
      Marshal Dillon rises and follows them.   wry applause. Arness swept his hat off
                                      and bowed low, grinning amiably.
      As  Arness rose  from  his  chair on  the   It was a  slow day and a  rather dull
      first  run-through,  Amanda  put  her   one.  The  smell  of  fresh  straw  and
      hand  on  his  arm  and  ad-libbed   three horses lay heavily in the atmos-
      solemnly,  "Matt,  be  careful."   phere.  Desultory  gin-rummy  games
        "No,"  said  McLaglen,  painfully  re-  continued  from  morning  until  night.
      calling  the  dialog  from  a  Maverick   On other days,  in other seasons,  the
      parody of Gunsmoke,  "I  wouldn't say   "action"  on  the  set  had  been  a  ·bit
      that if I  were you."           livelier.  There was  the  time, during  a
        "Oh,  well,"  Amanda  said.  "It  was   tense  scene,  that  Arness,  as  Dillon,
      just a  happy thought."         handed  a  note  to  Dennis  Weaver,  as
        Arness,  grimacing  and  fussing  over   Chester, with the order to "Read this."
      his script, suddenly came to a line that   Weaver  took  a  look  at  the  note  and
      appealed  to him. "Hey," he  said,  pok-  exploded  with  laughter,  destroying
      ing  Amanda,  "I  can  get  a  lot  of  sex   what  would  have  been  a  perfect
      appeal  into  this  line."      "take."  What Arness had done was to
        "I can't stand it," she groaned.   scribble  something unprintable  across
        "All  right,  boys,"  McLaglen  called   the  paper.
      out,  "let's  go.  Let's  fade  in on  Matt."   Weaver  got  his  -revenge  not  long
        "This  will  be  a  picture,"  Beche   after.  With  the  help  of  some  of  the
      shouted.  "Lose all your watches, duck   crew  he  jacked  up  Arness's  sports
      your  cigarets,  beer  'em  up.  Let's  go."   car  so  that  the  rear  wheels  were
        The scene, involving numerous cues,   an  inch  off  the  ground.  Arness,  not
      went  off  without  a  hitch  on  the  first   noticing,  jumped into  the car to  head
      take.  "Cut  and  print. it,"  McLaglen   home  after  the  day's  shooting.  The
      shouted.  The  actors  broke  for  cool   wheels . spun,... the  car  stood_ still  and
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